After spending a wonderful afternoon exploring the Hill of Tara with my nieces we wandered into a little bookstore on the Hill. The girls picked up some very old children's books and I a booklet on The Druids at Tara. When we were paying the man running the store said he would sign the booklet for me, being none other than the author himself. Michael Slavin is the author of The Book of Tara.
I love this ancient place and have been reading about the 5 roads to Tara. Today we went to Rath Grainne (Grainne of Toraiocht Diarmaid agus Grainne fame) and found our path along the woods on the slopes. We visited the Well of the White Cow, which is also known as St. Patrick's Well, The Well of the Dark Eye, the Well of the Healer and Cormac's Well I think. The Sons of Mil worshipped Edain Echraidhe (the white mare). Before them the white cow was worshipped. Around Tara the valleys belong to the white mare and the white cow where the rivers Gabhra and Skane meet. Now the M3 cuts through the valleys and this is why so many people were against the motorway coming. Some people say that Opus Dei are part of a conspiracy to ruin the area. I think that it would be tragic to lose the voices of our past.
The more I read and hear about Tara the more I believe it's a big con job! A mediaeval spin doctor's gloss on a some ancient monuments to back up the local lord's claim on a fictitious kingship of Ireland. I'll bet Grainne never darkened the door of Rath Grainne.
ReplyDeletewell i read that some british israelis dug up a mound below rath grainne in the early 1900's looking for the holy grail, of course they didn't find it but they found traces of life that dated back to about 200 bc. And why would the church make such an issue out of patrick coming to tara to convert us? did you know that the lost roman 9th legion is held by some to be the milesians, the sons of mil who defeated the tuatha de danann? We must listen to the old people.
ReplyDeleteI am an old person but nobody listens to me!!
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